The Wild Defending Itself - Become Part of Our International Tour !
We’re collaborating with French Activist, Filmmaker and Youtuber Vincent Verzat on the international avant-premiere tour of his documentary The Wild Defending Itself from June to October 2025.
With a campaign in France that has already gained huge momentum, growing from a planned 100 to 350 screenings so far, the tour is taking place both in festivals and on a do-it-yourself model, inviting wildlife enthusiasts and environmental activists worldwide to make screenings happen where they live.
Fill this form to get involved !
Vincent has been filming environmental protests for 10 years, assembling a community of 310,000 people on his YouTube channel Partager c’est Sympa. His debut feature The Wild Defending Itself (90 min.) traces his path between militancy and naturalism, his search for a balance between combat and contemplation.
“Four years ago, I experienced inner turmoil, eco-anxiety in the face of climate change. At the same time I realised how little I, like many environmental activists, know about the living world: we defend “nature” but we know little or nothing about it.
Yet our disconnection from the wild comes at a price: in being blind to other species, ecological dynamics and environments, we are creating a world in which nothing else can survive.”
Vincent Verzat, Director and Producer of The Wild Defending Itself
“So I turned to the wild, I self-taught and learnt from naturalists. I investigated forestry management in France, tracked and filmed animals living in the margins of our world, binding myself to the fate of a vixen, a young deer and a badger. I hoped to breathe new life into our struggle. To give it new meaning and vigour.
With a foot in each, I became a go-between these two worlds that don’t meet. My film blends journalistic investigation from encounters made in the field, a personal and intimate quest, and the wonder that comes with observing animals in the wild.”
From the running forest battles of the Millevaches plateau to the den of a badger family, via the much protested mega water-basins of Poitou, the stags of the Vercors and the controversial A69 motorway project, the film makes the link between wild animals and the struggles being waged throughout France against the destruction of their habitats.
‘The Wild Defending Itself’ sets out a path for living with dignity and preparing for what lies ahead.
Just like the film itself, the avant-premiere tour aims to bridge the gap between wildlife enthusiasts and environments militants, naturalists and activists, by collaborating between with local collectives and personalities to engage in Q&As after the screenings with Vincent joining screenings himself whenever possible to engage in conversations about the making of the film.
To request a screener of the film and programme Vincent’s film as part of your festival, protest, collective gathering or cinema schedule, feel free to reach out at contactdocweekly@gmail.com.
You can also fill in the following form and we’ll respond to your request.
